Release documentation 2: Traceability from FS to Tests

If you are working on a regulated industry, you need to issue up to date release documents before the go live.

You manage the specifications and tests in Jira, and it is frustrating to run into these limitations:

Because of the dynamic nature of Jira macros in Confluence- you cannot use them for the release documents- because its impossible to trust that the Jira data will not change.
Its' difficult to create proper traceability documents.

Overcoming these limitation requires using different hacks, workarounds, or various Apps and scripts.

With Jira Snapshots creating release documents directly in Confluence is secure and quick:

Jira data on Confluence page is static and time stamped. Whatever happens in Jira- the Confluence page will not change…until you want it to change.
Two, three and more traceability matrices are easy to set up.
And there is this extra bonus: you can compare between different versions of the data - stakeholders just love this feature because there is good visibility of what changed since the previous release.
In Confluences' page history: each new snapshot creates a new page version. When you view previous versions of the page, the page include the correct historic snapshot.
Snapshots are included Confluence exports (Word and PDF)

Now, release documents can be ready as soon as the product release is ready. No delays and waste of everyones time.

Use case by Rina Nir _RadBee . RadBee’s CEO “We cannot remove the burden of regulatory compliance, but we surely can rid teams from the waste of time”

Tips

If your traceability items are managed in Jira, then Jira Snapshots is the only way to create controlled specification documents directly in Confluence.
Use multiple Jira Snapshot macros on the same page to display different sets of issues. Like one to display the user requirements and a second for the traceability from user requirements to functional specifications.
JQL:
1. Level 1 of the traceability selects the user requirements applicable for our release:
  1. project = GAL AND issuetype = "User requirement" AND fixVersion = V1.0 order by 'Requirement type' ASC
2. Level 2 of the traceability selects the functional specifications traced down from each user requirement:
  1. issue in linkedissues($key,"Traces down to") order by key ASC

Here is how to do it

Login to Confluence and create a new page. Add to it all the “regular text” sections, like ‘Pupose’, 'Scope':
In the top editor toolbar, click the “+” icon and type “jira s” in the search bar. Then, select the “Jira snapshots” macro.
In the “Edit Jira Snapshots Macro” overlay:
1. Enter a title in the “Level title” field to represent the first level or “list” of Jira issues.
2. Enter a query in the “Search JQL” field to limit the scope of issues, like:
  1. project = GAL AND issuetype = "User requirement" AND fixVersion = V1.0 order by 'Requirement type' ASC
3. In the “Add fields to display” field, select the desired columns.
4. When configuring the traceability report, you’ll need to select: “+ Add new level”
5. Enter a title for the 2nd level
6. Enter a query in the “Search JQL” field. This time it needs to link with Level 1, like:
  1. issue in linkedissues($key,"Traces down to") order by key ASC
7. In the “Add fields to display” field, select the desired columns.
8. Click the “Insert” button at the bottom right to complete the macro’s configuration.
Click the “Publish” button at the top right of the page.
Finally, click the “Create controlled snapshot” button to generate a static list of issues.

Here’s the finished result.

Need to change the issue list or display different information? Simply edit the macro details and click the “Update” button, on the Confluence page, to take a new snapshot.